The Retailer Spring Edition 2021

THE RE TA I L ER

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DATA AND THE TRUST BAROMETER - THE NEW FRONTLINE OF RETAIL

Karen Hendy Co-Head of Retail RPC

Oliver Bray Senior Partner RPC

C onsumers are increas- ingly demanding control of their data and its ethical use

Olly Bray, senior partner at law firm RPC and noted tech commentator, says we’ve hit a turning point. “Data privacy is arguably the hottest topic in retail right now. Consumers are shopping around to find brands that take data seriously. It’s a huge opportunity for those who get it right”, he says. In retail, Marks & Spencer is a pioneer. It publishes all data policies in plain English. It enhances the brand’s mission to be a friend of the consumer. In the tech world, graphics card maker Nvidia operates a policy of total clarity. “We promise to protect your privacy. We only collect personal data to make or improve our products, or if you give us permission. We never sell your data,” the company says. The issue is magnified with the forthcoming European Union ePrivacy Regulation. “It’s the sister legislation to the General Data Protection Regulation”, explains Karen Hendy, co-head of retail at RPC. “The text is still being agreed. The aim is to add protections for personal data in electronic communications. All brands will need to review their data processes to ensure they are compliant”. The UK’s position post Brexit is uncertain, but in order to maintain the adequacy decision for UK data flows that the EU is in the process of finalising, therewill be some pressure on the UK to maintain an equivalent regime on ePrivacy. “This is an opportunity for brands to stand out”. says Bray. “My own family is nowmaking retail choices based on the ethics of brands. We switched to the Mindful Chef food delivery service because it donates a school meal to a child in poverty for everymeal purchased. The packaging is recyclable. Data privacy is part of that ethical proposition”. Furthermore, even before innovations like Solid gainwide adoption, consumers are being armed with tools to exercise greater control over data collection and use.

“At the end of last year more than 500 million people usedmobile browsers that block ads by default”, says Bray. “Google is phasing out third- party cookies in its Chrome browser. Apple is making privacy the default across its products. And consumers are putting good privacy prac - tices at the heart of their brand engagement decisions. This increase in consumer awareness is driving change in theway online services and connected devices are designed”. The good news is brands that build trust with consumers will prosper. They’ll build loyalty and enjoy access to the data they require to develop products and market effectively. Bray puts it like this: “The onlyway brands will be able tomeaningfully interactwith consumers in the future is by building trust through trans - parency, human-centred design and ethical data use.We areworkingwith our clients so they can take the lead on the issue. Crack this and your customers should be with you for life. Ignore it and they’ll leave you for dust”. To find out more please visit rpc.co.uk/retail

The inventor of the world wide web has a startup. Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s company Inrupt has launched Solid, a platform for giving con - sumers control over their data. Solid keeps user data in a secure locker, or pod, and access can be granted or revoked as needed. This means consumers need never input data twice for different services, merely grant access to their Solid data pod. It cuts down on misuse of data as information is stored privately by the user. Sir Tim has persuaded the BBC, NHS and NatWest bank to explore his concept. Consumers are putting good privacy practices at the heart of their brand engagement decisions”. ‘‘ The appeal is obvious. Consumers are deeply concerned by data use and abuse. Protecting data is the new frontline of retail. Brands that fail to inspire trust are being abandoned. Aworldwide survey found a third have already switched brands for data privacy reasons. Deloitte found 98 per cent of UK consumers are concerned by the way online brands use personal data. A further 85 per cent will avoid a brand if their data is not secure.

Karen Hendy Co-Head of Retail, RPC karen.hendy@rpc.co.uk +44 20 3060 6051 Oliver Bray Senior Partner, RPC oliver.bray@rpc.co.uk +44 20 3060 6277

This article was originally featured in Raconteur’s 'The Future of Retail' report, published in The Times on 30 November 2020.